Hummingbird and Butterfly Gardening: Looking to attract a Atala hairstreak, 1 by artcons

artcons wrote:
My previous two posts talk of success in attracting specific butterflies to my yard via planting "larva plants". This post is a chronicle of my attempt to attract an Atala hairstreak to my yard using the same technique.
It all started two years ago when I read a newspaper article about visitors to an area just a mile or so from my location. The visitors came from as far away as Australia, California and New York to see a rare butterfly at an undisclosed yard within the Riverland Area of Fort Lauderdale. Well, if there are rare butterflies around, I want them to visit me too.
I began in earnest to plant to attract these rare butterflies. Some plants are easier to come by than others. One of the more difficult plants to purchase here is a coontie. The demand for them is high so basically the nursery houses sell them to professionals. I learned they are easy to grow from offshoots the coontie plant makes profusely. This past fall I began planting the offshoots from coonties I collected anywhere I found a mature coontie plant. The picture is of the first offshoot I planted in my yard. Yes it's a small one, but it won't be that way forever. My coontie offshoots seem to make a new "frond" about every five to six weeks. By the end of summer this plant will look different then it does now, with only it's baby fronds showing. The first real fond is at the bottom left. It's the one with six "leaflets" showing.
The whole purpose of planting this (and other coonties) in my yard is to attract the Atala hairstreak butterfly to my yard.